Ruthless Revolutionary At Apex Of Islamic Republic

Paris : Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a pillar of the theocratic system since the Islamic revolution, has weathered a series of crises with a mix of pressure and strategic maneuvering throughout his rule, but now he may be facing his biggest challenge.

The United States and Israel launched attacks on targets in Iranian cities on Saturday, prompting a swift response from the Islamic republic, whose Guard announced it was launching a wave of missile and drone attacks on Israel.

While the scope of the attack on Iran is not yet clear, it could range from being limited to targeting the top of the leadership.

Khamenei, now 86, has dominated Iran for the past thirty-five years since taking office as leader of the Islamic revolution in 1989 following the death of the revolution’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

He remained in power after overcoming student demonstrations in 1999, mass protests sparked by disputed presidential elections in 2009, and brutally suppressed demonstrations in 2019.

She also survived the 2022-2023 “Women, Life, Freedom” movement sparked by the in-custody murder of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

Khamenei was forced into hiding during the 12-day war against Israel in June; this war revealed Israel’s deep intelligence penetration of the Islamic Republic, which led to key security officials being killed in airstrikes.

But he survived that war and remained as defiant as ever after nationwide protests shook the Islamic Republic again earlier this year.

– Tight security –

Khamenei lives under the tightest security measures, and his relatively infrequent public appearances are never announced in advance or broadcast live.

As a religious leader, he never steps out of the country; this set a precedent following Khomeini’s triumphant return to Tehran from France in 1979.

Khamenei’s last known trip abroad was in 1989, when he met Kim Il Sung during his official visit to North Korea as president.

There has long been speculation about his health given his age, but there was nothing in his latest appearance to spark new rumors.

Khamenei’s right arm is always motionless. He was partially paralyzed after an assassination attempt in 1981. Authorities have always blamed the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), a group once an ally of the revolution that is now outlawed in the country.

– ‘I object’ –

Khamenei, who was arrested multiple times during the Shah’s reign for his anti-imperialist activism, became Tehran’s Friday prayer imam shortly after the Islamic revolution and also served on the front lines during the Iran-Iraq war.

He was elected president in 1981 following the assassination of Muhammad Ali Rajai, another attack for which the MEK was blamed.

In the 1980s, Khomeini’s most likely successor was seen as senior cleric Ayatollah Hossein Montazeri, but the revolutionary leader changed his mind shortly before his death after Montazeri objected to mass executions of HM members and other dissidents.

When Khomeini died and the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic republic’s highest religious body, convened, it was Khamenei who was chosen as leader.

Khamenei initially rejected the candidacy, putting his head in his hands in a show of desperation and saying, “I am against.” But the clergy rallied together to confirm his candidacy, and his grip on power has not loosened since.

Khamenei has now worked with six elected presidents in a much less powerful position than the supreme leader; There are also more moderate figures, such as Mohammed Khatami, who are allowed to push for cautious reform and rapprochement with the West.

But in the end, Khamenei always sided with the radicals.

He is believed to have six children, but only one, Mojtaba, is publicly prominent. He, who was subject to sanctions by the USA in 2019, is one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes figures in Iran.

A family dispute also attracted attention: His sister, Badri, fell out with her family in the 1980s and fled to Iraq to join her husband, a dissident cleric, in the war.

Some of his children, including his nephews who are now in France, became fierce critics.